


A Sting

by MajesticMajestic



Category: Anthem (Video Game)
Genre: Betrayal, BioWare, Bittersweet, Dirty Talk, Friends to Enemies, I'm Sorry, M/M, Mild Smut, My First Fanfic, Sad Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-07 21:20:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17968259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MajesticMajestic/pseuds/MajesticMajestic
Summary: Set after retrieving Haluk but before the final fight at the Heart of Rage. Light smut with sad ambivalent ending.Freelancer Zarek keeps getting random radio drop ins from his ex-best friend. Smut and sadness ensue.





	A Sting

\---

"Heard you got a boyfriend now?" 

The audio came quickly, clipping over his comms and Zarek glared. 

"Owen." 

"Hey. Now, back to what I was saying..." 

Zarek landed in a fallen Serpent. Vines and moss clung to it and he began to walk inside. Light filtered through delicate greenery but he currently had no ability to enjoy the sight.

"I don't." 

Owen laughed. 

"You sure? Word does travel fast, doesn't it? Even over here, I hear of the Legendary Zarek."

"Where is here?" 

"Oh…" His old Cypher cooed. "Miss me?" 

"It's so I can strangle you." 

Again, the man laughed. Zarek heard him shift, breathing hitching as he jumped up to something. 

"You do know I like it rough." 

The words sent shame through him. And heat. Anger pure and unfiltered. 

"Get glitched." 

Owen hummed. 

"Still so easy to get you riled up. Tell me something, this boyfriend of yours, does he look like me?" 

"No." 

"Ah, so there is a boyfriend though." 

"No! No, there isn't. Just a friend." 

"A better friend than me?" 

Zarek snarled, lurching forward as his boots scrapped along rusted metal. 

"Anyone would be a better friend than you!" 

"That hurts, Zar. I did come and save you in the Fortress." 

"Yeah! And then proceeded to fight with Haluk and lead Furies right to us." 

"That wasn't me!" Owen snapped back immediately. "They knew you were going there already. I just didn't want to stay." 

"What do you want, Owen?!"

The line grew quiet at this. Quiet enough to Zarek actually thought the connection had been ended. Just as he went to speak, to question, Owen spoke again. Low voiced and with a laugh. 

"What are you wearing? Underneath the suit, I mean." 

Zarek cut the line himself.

-

The next time it happened was when he was just getting back to the Fort. His comm crackled as he stepped down from the Forge. 

"Heyo, it's me." 

"Oh, for the love of-"

"Relax," Teased the other man. 

Zoe and Saryna both looked him and he waved them off. Zarek even walked a bit faster to get to his apartment. 

"Why are you doing this?" 

"I'm bored. Lonely. How can I resist the Freelancer of Fort Tarsis?" 

"Is this-" 

"How's the boyfriend? He treating you right? Satisfying you?" 

Zarek didn't reply, only pushed open the doors to the apartments. He saw Erryl and the man waved for him to come over. Zarek ignored him and walked quicker. 

"No reply? Ah, that's too bad. It's no good if you have an itch you can't scratch." 

"The only itch I can't scratch is you!" 

"Yes, so I've noticed. You collapsed our last channel. I'll find more." 

"Don't you have other people to betray? To harass?" 

Owen laughed and Zarek unlocked his door. As he moved into his apartment, he heard something shriek over the comms. 

"As much as I would love to continue this, I got to go. Talk to you later, Zar." 

The comms went dead again and Zarek sighed harshly. He looked down to his hands, both of them trembling with anger. One day. One day they would be steady as they wrapped around Owen's neck. 

-

"You know I can actually feel you change the Anthem?" 

Zarek threw out a hand, igniting all the Skorpions as they poured out of the Relic. He dropped down, shoving the fragment back into the arm of it. 

The Anthem blew out, tingling and singing as it swirled around him. Eager to spawn more feral beasts that he would have to kill.

"To your right." 

Zarek spun, gunning down a Brute as it charged at him. It slammed onto the ground and he jumped up again. 

"All alone? Not very smart." 

"Shut up." 

Owen laughed. 

"Two more coming from the Ruin side." 

His cloak whipped as he twirled in the air, thrusters activating to keep him floating. Zarek saw another fragment but he shot at the Brutes instead. Ice spikes slashed through them and again, he ignited the air with fire. 

Owen was right. He shouldn't have come out here alone. The Anthem exploded from the Relic again and Zarek landed just as more Skorpions poured out. He grabbed the fragment and Owen yelled. 

"Jump up now!" 

Zarek did, kicking off the ground quickly just as one barrelled into the rock face. He hovered over and something splattered all over him. Zarek cursed, awkwardly landing on top of the Relic. 

He shoved the fifth piece in and Zarek flew upwards. The last fragment was spotted and Owen's voice crackled over once more. 

"You let them gather. Not good." 

Zarek dove down for the piece, slamming hard to the ground as he scrambled for it. As he spun around, he saw exactly what Owen meant. Three Brutes and a horde of Skorpions were all swirling into life. Zarek again jumped up and dodged towards the Relic. 

As he landed, one Brute smacked him hard. He twisted to throw his momentum into the arm of the Relic. The last fragment slid in with ease and as it went silent, Zarek jumped up. 

He spun and his arm came out as his ability activated. Huge chunks of ice rained down on the area, followed by electricity. And fire was last, cleansing everything as he destroyed all of the creatures. 

Owen was laughing loudly, cheering and even Zarek laughed as he landed again. Ash rained down around him and the Anthem hummed from the dormant Relic. 

As he panted, he realized he was smiling. Heart racing a mile a minute. It felt good and smug pride had overtaken his annoyance. Owen got quiet too, just little chuckles and Zarek jumped up. 

He flew into the ruins, spinning underneath an archway before spotting a mostly intact room. The Storm landed quickly, walking into the building as his heart continued to pump recklessly.

Zarek came to a stand-still. Armour peeling open from the back. He was sweating, too flushed with excitement to think on this stupid situation.

"Talk to me." 

It was demanded and Owen sucked in a sharp breath, the sound of his armour buckling down as well.

"About what? How easy you make it look? How you you just decimated a whole squadron of creatures?" 

Zarek sighed, half hard already. He gripped at himself and a soft moan came out. Owen hummed in approval. 

"Damn, right to it. What was it for you? Me guiding you like before or just the heat of it?" 

His eyes slid shut, focusing on Owen's voice. Smug and accented but slightly shaky under his own arousal. 

"You." 

"That's what I thought. I knew you missed me. I miss you." 

Zarek groaned, palming roughly at himself. Little thrills of excitement melted into pleasure and he leaned back against his Javelin. 

"I never meant to sideline you." 

"Shh, we don't need to talk about that right now."

"I do miss you." 

Owen released a hard breath and Zarek knew he was already jerking himself off. He quickly undid his belt, pushing his pants down just to pull himself out. 

"I'm still going to kill you." 

Owen laughed. 

"There it is. That drive that makes everyone around you hot." 

Zarek leaned his head back, stroking himself with a shaky hand. His heart was still pounding and Owen was panting in his ear. 

"Wasn't so hard, was it? Getting back to this." 

A flush rose on his face and he squeezed at his cock. 

"Why does it matter now?" 

"I'm still your Cypher, aren't I? We make such a good team." 

"Made! A good team." 

"C'mon, Zar, you're jerking yourself off in a ruin just because I caught you all hot and bothered." 

The low moan that followed made him whimper. Zarek swept up the pre-cum that had beaded up along his head and he twitched roughly from the sensitive pleasure it sent through him. 

"You're a piece of shit." 

Owen hummed, "That's true. But here we are." 

"Keep going." 

"I wish I could see you. Really see you. Not just feel you in the Anthem. Not just hear you pant and whine." 

He couldn't help the moan that fell out from the harshly whispered words. 

"You were always easy on the eyes. Not that that matters anymore."

"You can imagine, can't you?" 

"Oh, yes I can."

Zarek bit his lip, picking up the pace a bit. He was already on the edge and a pressure was beginning to build in his groin. 

"Don't be quiet. Let me hear you. Come on, Zar. You're always so good." 

He released his lip just to say the other man's name. 

"Owen." 

"That's it. Keep going." 

Zarek's legs shook and he groaned again. 

"Owen." 

"I'm right here, Zar. Just me and you. And I'm so close. Make me cum, Zar." 

This is what did it. Knees buckled and Zarek moaned loudly as that pressure finally cracked. He kept jerking himself off, chanting Owen's name as he came. 

He heard the Cypher groan, mumbling his name too and Zarek fell back against his Javelin. All of him was tingling, twitching while he tried to get back his breath. 

Zarek shivered at the lewdness of it. The sting of shame it brought. He pushed his softening length back into his pants before wiping his hand off on them. Owen chuckled lazily. 

"So, how's that-" 

He cut the feed. 

-

Two weeks went by. Rapidly too. And he desperately pushed away any memory of that day. It was wrong. A total betrayal to everything that had happened. Anger boiled in Zarek's stomach at the thought even now. 

As he shut the door to his apartment, he went to take out his earpiece. It crackled though and all of him locked into place. The other man sounded sad. Melancholic in the way he so often could be.

"Zar?" 

He was quiet, not replying as his heart picked up speed. Owen laughed and it was slurred, drunk and miserable. 

"It's okay. You don't gotta say a word. Just… Just listen to me." 

He leaned against the door, waiting. Owen sniffled. 

"I would say I'm sorry but I guess that won't change anything now." 

Zarek sunk down, knees up to rest his arms on them. He stared into the apartment. There was a time when Owen was here just as much as he was. 

"Do you remember when you talked Zoe and some of the Sentinels into having a poker night here?" 

Owen laughed slightly. 

"Yeah. You were pissed. Soaking wet from your Javelin constantly overheating. You never told me what happened, just threw us all out." 

"My Javelin locked up. You just cut out and stopped talking to me. I… A few nights before that I had had a dream that you tried to take a Javelin and got killed." 

The man was quiet on the other side. Another sniffle coming up instead of words. 

"As soon as I realized you weren't on the line, I totally panicked. I don't know why. My Javelin fell into a Wyvern nest. I barely got out and even by the time I made it back here, my whole left side was glitched." 

"I-"

"And then I found you here drunk and relaxed. I was so mad until I wasn't. You gave me this sheepish look as you left and I felt like shit for being an ass." 

"You never told me any of that." 

"I didn't think it would matter anymore. You were okay and so was I." 

The line went back to soft static again. He sighed and let his head hit the door. Hot tears burnt at his eyes and Zarek scrubbed roughly at them. 

"You're okay, right? Zar?" 

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay." 

"Good then." 

"Are you?" 

Owen laughed again. The sound breaking Zarek's heart. 

"You know me. I'll be alright." 

"Good." 

"I-Ah, I've probably taken too much of your time. Can't have the famous Freelancer fatigued, now can we?" 

Zarek rolled his eyes, laughing softly. 

"Get glitched." 

"Have a good night, Zar. Try not to dream too much." 

The line went dead at this and Zarek pulled his earpiece out. He set it down on the floor carefully. Eyes found it in the dark but the sight blurred as tears began to leak out. Slowly, he put his boot down onto it. Zarek imagined crushing it. Finding a million other channels to use. But he didn't. 

\---

**Author's Note:**

> So, sorry if I mis-tag anything or come off as stupid. This is my first upload ever so I'm still wobbly on what I'm doing. Hopefully it's okay? Constructive criticism is welcome but please don't be super mean because I will 1000% cry 😂  
> Either way, hopefully anyone that decides to read it enjoys it.


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